Meter.



1. c.I WILSON.

METER. APPUCATON FILED AUG. l. '1913. 1,254,871. Patented Jun. 29, 1918.

2 ,SHEETS-SHEET l. n

2 SHEETS-sneu 2.

:-WILSON.

METER.

APPucAIloN FILED AUG. i. 1913.

Patented Jan. 29, 1918.

able, when ver L Application filed August 1, 1913.

To all whom z't may concern.'

Be it `known that I, JOHN C; WILsoN, a eitizen'of the United States, residing at ilivaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Meters, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification. l

y invention relates meters.

Wherever it is necessary to measure very large quantities of gas or other Huid it has been recognized generally that vit is desirable to direct a small portion of the fiowing fluid to improvements in error just mentioned iscorrected by making 1 a suitable calibration at lsome particular rate 0f flow, said correction does not hold for a different rataef flow; if the error is corrected by making a suit-able. calibration when allA the passages are Clean, said correctton or calibration does not'liold after dirt, tar, rust, etc., has been .deposited on the parts land passages. The above objectionable features have been found. to ex' t particularlywhere measf a type such as described in the United tates patent to Carl C. homas, No. 946,886, January 18, 1910, in which the flow ismeasured by the determinationv of the.

effect of a known amount of pated into the fiowing gas. g meter of this type it is particularly desir` v amc quantities of gas are o ce measured',l to vuse the proportional heat dissi- *p Specification of Letters Patent In usine' a ATEN T OFFICE.

Patented Jan. 29,1918. Serial No. 782,427.

y improvement is directed more particularly toward proportional meters wherein the meter elements are of the electrical type referred to in said patent, although the invention is, of course, not limited to any particular type of meter elements. e

The object of my invention, generally speaking, is to provide a proportional meter of increased accracy and etliciency. Other contributory objects are:

o provide means for dividing the flow into lixed, definite proportional parts.

' o provide means for insuring the continuanee of the flow accurately inthe proportions determined upon.

o provide means for checking the proportional fiow at intervals to insure the con` tinued accuracy of the readings. To provide an improved meter which shall measure accurately the flow of very large quantities of fluid, at a minimum expense.

To provide an improved meter which shall have a very wide range of opera-tion, Where by the same meter may be used to measure the How of either a large quantity or a small quantity' of Huid with a high degree of aceuraey.

To provide a means independent of the metering elements.

To provide a meter wherein the measur` ing elements'may be cleaned or otherwise removed from service without interrupting the flow, which continues through the remaining passages.

Addition-i1 Objects win be apparentent outspeeilic enumeratiton in view ofthe fol-fc5 lowing description. i l accompanying drawings I have In the illustrated several vention. Various other be devised, however, and accordin not; limiti myself to the present disc osure.

In the drawings:

embodiments of my in..

' Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional eleva.

tion of one form of proportional meter.

Fig. 2 is a section thereof on the line 2,2 105 of Fig. 1.

Fig 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation'. I

or :1 different form of proportionate meter'.

Fig.- 4 is a section thereof on the line 4, 4

of Fig'. 3.

meter having proportioning V embodiments may ly-I do 100 other liiiid flows.

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of a slight iiioililiration of the ineter shown in Fig.

Fig. (i is a partial sectional elevation of a luithcr ii'iodilicatioii.

Fig. is a partial sectional elevation ot' an additional modiliriilioii.

lteterriiig to vFig` l, the iiietei' housing 1 is adapted to be connected directly in the iiia'iii conduit through which.' the4 gas or 'lhe middle portion of "llie housing l is enlarged at2 andisprovided with a 4removable cover Wit-hin the inclosure thus formed is inoiintedan iiiiiei' barrel oreyliiider l: arranged preterably vertically, the latter heilig divided preferably by radial partitions 5 into a plurality ot' substantially parallel passages. Iii the present instance there are tour such passages, each of equal cross-sectional area, through which the fluid would ordinarily llow'in equal vo'lunies, one-toiii'tli of the entire volume offiiiid flowing through each passage.v ()tcoiirsc, the li'i'uuibe'r of pcassa-ges n'iay'be Vvaried within wide limits. At each end of tl'i'e barrel 4,1 provide preti--A eialily a screen 6, to render the tiow through the-passages more nearly uniform and to screen out any ot the larger-particles of solidiiiatter `which may be lioatiiig along in the lowingliuid. It will be seen that, with the' ct'iiistruction provided, the' inner hai-,rel

et is jaelreted by the gas, whereby no subL stantial eri-ors are introduced due to rapid conduction of heat toward or away fr oiii the meter elements through the wall of` said inner barrel.'

In one of the longitudinal passages l mount meter elements by means of which the flow therethrough may be detemiined. The metering element .or elements may as suine' various forms. The one w-hielifl have illustrated comprises an electric heater 7 consisting of a suitable screen or grid ot v rcsistance'wire i'noiinted on a suitable traine 8. On one side of said electric heater 1'- ai range a-'therinometer element t) consisting of a suitable screeiuot mounted on a support lt).` A similar-.therq mometer resistance is 'mounted 4on the ,opi posite side of said electricheater and'eonsists of' a screen ot resistance wire ll mounted on a suitable support l2.

'lhe heater and ther'iiioineter resistances maybe of any' suitable const ruct ion 'and are not described injdetail as they foriiu'p'gt 'no'l part of the present iiiventioili. circuit connections are made troni` the two ttlierinoiiieler -resistanees and ,the electric they maybe connected in circuit in the saine heater through- V(.'Loiiiliietors-Lji to an outlet huirl 14,. wlierehyby means of. 4autoinatiejrpfl paratus which need not he described hei-ein,

heating current issupplied to th, elgetric healer` Vsaidcurrent being autornaticall resistance v wire Suitable Y and thermometer elements may l .diiiii'iuy measuring elements capableof per- .,described vf iired atvairied so 'as torrial'ritain a constant. 4tempt iat-ure ditterence, for' example, degrees which is continual y in use.

Itahreiilieit, between the thermometer re sistanees located on opposite sides of the heater. rlht.` variations 'in the amount of electrical energy required to maintain this constant temperature ditl'erence afford a 7l) basis for ealeiilatii'ig the quantity of fluid flowing through the passage, irrespective ot variations iii the temperature and pressure thereof.

The method of determining lthe flow from V the dissipation of heat into the fluid may also be carried out by using the heater alone andomtting the thermometer elements en tirely, or by using a heater and a single t-lieri'noineter element, or by using various so other eoi'nbinations of elei'neiits which need not he described at, length herein. General reference thereto is made, however, not only to emphasize the t'act that many of the features of improvement described herein are independent of the particular measuring iip paratus or metering elements employed, but, also because of the fact, that., generally speaking, the fewer and simpler the metering elements employed, the better because 9o ot the dimii'iislicd resistance or obstruction ofi'ere-dto the flowing fluid. For this reason the use ot'.v the heater alone is very ad vantageoi'is both with the present construc- -lion and` those hereinafter described, the

whether one or more of these devices are employed, olfer a'certain resistance or ob structioiuto the iow of fluid and' accordingly, with these meter elements mounted in one ot' said passages, the flow of Huid therethrough would be somewhat slower than that through the three other passages an would therefore he less than the proportion indicated hy thclratio ot' the cross-sectional areas of said passages. .In order to offset this i'liiiiciilty, Il Vmoui-itin' the other three` ,1.10 passages similar sets-of heaters andtheiinometer elements. These screens are pref era-bly exact duplicates of those. with which the ilicasureineiits are obtained, that is, with respect to the physical dimensions thereof. whereby they offer the saine .obstruction to the 'luiilfl'owiiig throughthe passage iii which each is'located as isoffered by the nieter elements-proper to the Huid flowing tl-iroiighthe meter passage. Said heaters 12o be merelyr forming no metering function whatever, oi"

the meter elements-previously whereby the vflow through all of' 'tli'epassages may be simultaneously meas .interi/als, in order to check up the flow -as indicated by the single meter section With such ar- 1an manner I as 45 conduit.

50 middle thereof.

55 former Arangement a great economy in current is tained, as all necessary calibrations may be carefully worked out before installation of the meter and these calibrations may be con* veiiiently checked from time to time as desired during service. 4

On the assumption that each group of meterelements in eaclrofthe passages is not merely a dummy but is an operative device,

it will be seen that the flow through the vari` ous assages maybe measured successively y t e respective meter' elements. For example, the flow through one passage may be measured by the corresponding instruments for one-half hour, after which during thev e measured nextfhalf hour, tliegilow may through' the next adjacent passage, after `@which the remaining passages may be used insucqession. lf the respective passages are thusused in xrotation, as it may be termed, and theaverage How for each passage obtained, the total i'low may be readily coinpnted during any desired period.

W'ith any of the above methods of measurement the electrical energy required is very much reduced from what it Would be if 1t Were necessary to heat all of the iiovving gas. With the improved construction de- .30 scribed,`it becomes practicableto measure very large volumes of as, for example, a v flow of five million cubic feet per hour,` as Well as to measure accurately much smaller volumes.

In Fig. 3, I have illustrated a construction embodying certain of the features just de scribed, and having in addition certain other a suitable housing 15 of much larger dianieter than the` diameter of tlie conduit with, which it is connected at both ends,

the reduced diameter of said ends giving a. general idea ofthe size of said' At the entrance end of the conduit a baiiie 16 is located supported by bers 17, adapted to distribute the gas over t-he entire cross-section of the casing and` prevent it from being concentrated at the The screen `18 also aids in securing uniform distribution. The housing 15 is divided between its ends into a main -passage 19 and a lay-pass or auxiliary passage 20, the latterbeingsmaller than the in the `construction illustrated. l,Within the passage 2O suitable meter elements are located consisting in the preferred for'in of an electric heater 2l and :L pair of u. thermometer rcsistances `E22, 23, together with 60 suitable screens 24, `25,-similar tothose previously described, whereby the How of fiuid l through said Vpassage v20 may be accurately A similar but` correspondingly measured larger set of .meter elements also located in theflarger passage- 19, `said latter elements effected and very accurateresults may be obcomprising an electric heater 26, a. pair of thermometer resistances 27,, 28 and screens 29, 30. These latter elements are so designed as to offer the `same proportionate obstruction to the llovv of fluid through the larger passage as is offered by the smaller meter elements to the iovv` of fluid through the Smaller passage. The large meter elements may be used tomeasure the flow occasionally through the large passage for the purpose of calibration and in order to check the prof portionate iovv.` They may, on theotherV hand, be mere dummies, having no nieasur` in function Whatever. i .Vi

ln the lower end of the housing 1-5, I pro-, vide suitable partitions 81 and 31 havingI openings 32, 33 therein, one substantially in" line with the central 'axis of the large passage `and one substantially in line with the vcentral axis of the small" passage. One` of these orilices is preferably largeifthanthe other, as shown, both being very `accurately'.` made and so proportioned to divide the may, of course, be of any desired relative areas. After the gas has flowed through these orifices it ilovvsthrough thev passages flowing gas in the desired proportions. YThey l9-and 20. The velocity of flow, however,--

through these passagesfis very much reduced, i,

in view of the veryv large cross`sectional area? of the respective assages relative to the di ameter of the ori f ces. Furthermore, there- 1 sistance to the How after the gas has left the` orifices is reduced almost to zero, or to a neg-Cii yI ligible qiantity as comparedwiththe resistance to the fioW `through the orifices.` In

other ivords, the, main passage and by-pass i, are designed with such liberal cross-sectional areas, tha t, conziparatively speaking, theydo'l i `10h lnot interfere with the flow of thegas after it leaves eaid. orifices. Under rthese circuin?v stances, the obstruction offered to the flow of I the gas by the meter elements in the smallA v passage in quite negligible and accordinglythe dumm y elements may be removed, if desired.

v11o i An additional screen 34 may be provided at the upl; er end of the housing to aidiin sei i curing ai even flow of fluid. v Suitable valves 35, 36, 37, 38 may also be provided l whereby the flow through either section conftaining theqv meter may be shut otl and said` y' section removed for l cleaning, repairs, etc. lt will Lbe seen that during such removal the How continues Without interruption through` 'i the remain .ng passage, and may be measured '131 by the metering elements therein. This ad :y vantage obtains not only with a construction p f such as sho rn in Fig. 3, having two passages for the luiil, but also ina construction prof i viding for a greater number of `passages` i The )lates containinfr the orifices in Fig. 3, may )e omitted providedjzhe vresistance of the meter parts is properly proportioned so that the operation will be similar to that in 4 A construction such as suggested aboveV wherein metering elements are entirely omitted from one of the'passagesis shown in Fig. 5. In this ligure the same reference characters have been used as in Figs. 3 and 4 where corresponding paris are indicated. In both the constructions shown in Figs. 3 and 5. the Huid may be cam d yto flow through a second pair of orifices near the upper end of the respective passages, it desired; or said outlet orifices may be used to the exclusion of the entrance orifices, the main function being to properly and accurately proportion the flow through the re spective passages. f

In Fig. 6 I have shown a slight modification wherein instead ot' dummy metering elementsin the passage 19, I substitute other means for obstructing somewhat the flow therethrough, thereby preventing a deviation from the true proportionate fiow. The

4means illustrated is a .ii'iechanical resistance having the torni ot' af plate or diaphragm 30, having an openin or orifice 40 therein, said orifice, being mate of such size when the meter is being calibrated before installation that it offers just sullieient resistance to the flow to Ibring about the desired proportional division of the total flow. Such a device, or suitable equivalent, may he, of'course, used with anyotI the forms of meter illustrated herein. In the same figure, passage 20, a single heater 21 used without. the thermometer elements illustrated in thereceding figures. The operation of said eater need not be described other than to state. that the fluid fiowing past. the heater has a cooling or Ventilating effect thereon, whereby for a given heat dissipation the temperature, and, hence, the resistance of the heater (wherean electric heater is eniployed), is not as great it would be with no Huid flowing and whereby variations in said resistance afford a basis of estimating the quantity'of said fiowing fluid. This single heater may, of course, be employed in any of the other forms of meter illustrated herein.

In Fig. 7 I have'illustrated a further modification wherein, instead of the orifices heretofore described, I have substituted restricted o enings in the 't'orm of a Venturi throat. large Venturi throat or tube 41 is connected in thepassage 10 und a corresponding smallei"Venturi tube 4Q, is'eonnected in the passage 20, said tubes giving the desired proportional How without appreciable drop in pressure, in view of the well known properties of said tubes. Ac-

is shown in the eordingly greater ellieiency may be attained by the use of these devices as there is .not as much drop in pressure in the fiuid passing through the meter.v This construction also may be employed with the various dit'- lferent forms of meters illustrated herein.

In connection particularly with the iorms of meter illustrated in Fig. 3 and the various modifications thereof, it will be seen that provision is made whereby the range ot' the meter is very great. For example, suppose the proportional factor of the two passages is 10 to 1, and assume that thenieasuring eleineiit-has a range ot accuracy of from 1 tg' 20. .Assume also that the meter element iii the small` passage is designed on this basis to measure rates ot flow :trom 5,000 to cubic `teet per hour. lVith the large assagc sli ut ott' entircl y, the entire flow may e directed through the small passage and measured accurately therein provided it is within the limits of from 5,000 to 100,000 cubic feet per hour. The range of the ineter when both passages are open vvill'then be ten times as great, or from 50,000 to 1,000,000 cubic t'eet per hour. 'llie total possible range of the combination, therefore, is from 5,000 to 1,000,000 cubic feet 4per hour-a to tal range of from l to 200. The above very wide vrange is possible where only two passages are rovidcd. Of course, where the fluid `is divided up into morev than two streams the possibilities in this' regard are much increased. From this it is apparent, ot' course, that the construction illustrated in Figs. l and 2 may be suitably modified to give a wide range of capacity for the meter in a similar manner.

Although all the metering elements shown are of the electric type, it is apparent that in many of its phases the invention is not limited to this `type of element. more, although the straight flow type of housing t'or the meter is shown. in all the drawings, the globe valve type or any one of a number of: other types might also be emloyed. In general, therefore, the invention is not limited to the structures described and illustrated, but may be embodied in other forms and accordingly, I desire to cover by the appended claims whatever suitable equivalent i-.oiistructioiis may be devised which fall within the scope of said claims.

[laying thus described my invention, what l. claim as new and desire to secure by Letters latent of the United States isz-4 l. meter adapted to divide a flowing stream of fluid into a plurality of proportionate streams, means t'or measuring the flow of one ot' said proportionate Streams andk means t'or insuring that the proportionality of the streams is maintained, said latter means being adapted to measure the How in any or all other of said proportion-` ate streams al. will.

Further- 2. A meter adapted to divide` a flowing stream of fluid into a plurality of proportionate streams, electrica-l means for measuring the :fio'iv of one of said proportionate streams, similar means for insuring that the proportionate flow is maintained and `for measuring the How in any or all of the other proportionate' streams.

I one of said separate 3. A meter adapted to divide a flowing stream of fluid into determinate propor tional streams, electrical means in one of said proportionate streams for measuring the iiow theieof, uring means in the other streams for insuring that the proportionality of said streams remains the same` and for measuring the How in any or all of the other proportionate streams.P

4. A meter comprising means for dividinga HoWing stream of fluid into a plurality of separate streams, an electrical resistance device interposed across the path of flow of streams, and additional electrical resistance devices interposed across thepath of flow of the remainder of said fluid to offer the same Iproportionate obfstruction thereto as is offered by said first resistance device, whereby any or all of said resistance devices may he usedrto measure the How of fluid.

5. A meter for measuring the flow of fluids having a housing provided with aplu-` rality of passages each of which has an entrance orifice of given size, means for insuring uniform distribution of How adjacent said entrance orifices so that said orifices will divide the flow in accurate proportion andj means in one of the passages to measure the proportionate flow therethrough.

' meter for measuring the flow of fluids having a housing provided with a plurality of passages each having an entrance orifice'of given size, means for insuring uniform distribution of flow adjacent said entrance orifices so that the flow will be divided in accurate proportions by said orifices, means in certain of said passages for measuring the flow therethrough, said orifices being of small area as compared with the cross-sectional area of the corresponding passages so that the proportionate llovv is not disturbed by the presence of measuring means in certain of the passages.

7. In a meter, a housing adapted to be connected as part of a conduit, said housing comprising a pair of header chambers con- 4, nected by a plurality of removable units passages therethrough communicathaving measuring means ing` with said chambers,

in certain of said units and means for preventing Iiow through each of said passages so that a unit may be removed and the flow continued through the remaining units.

8. In a meter, a housing having means for and similar electrical measl `means in the other movable, whereby a unit may be removed and the flow -measured by the remaining units.

9. A meter provided with a housingliaving a plurality of separate passages therethrough, the inclosures for said passages comprising a plurality of connected reinovable units, means in one of the units of cer tain of the passages for measuring the iow through said passages and means in other of the units in the passages for interrupting theA How therethrough so that a unit may be removed and the flow continued through the remaining passages.

10. A meter having a housing provided With a pair of header chambers connected by a plurality of separate conduits having sections thereof removable as units, means in certain of said removable units for measv uring the flow through the corresponding conduits, means for insuring a proportional flow through said separate conduits and means for preventing How through each of said conduits so that one or more of the units in a conduit may be removed and the glow continued through the remaining conuits.

1l. A meter having a housing provided with a pair of header chambers connected b v a plurality of separate passages, baille plates in saidV header chambers, said assages having entrance openings of given size to proportionl the flow through said passages, said entrance openings being small as compared with the cross-sectionof said passages, electrical measuring means in certain of said passages to'measure the flow therethrough and similar electrical means in the other passages to insure that the proportional flow is maintained under all conditions and to measure the flow through any `or all the other passages at will.

12. A meter comprising a housing having a pair of end chambers connected by a lu-y rality of separate passages, certain portions of the inclosures for said passages being removable as units, means in the end charnbers for distributing the flow to all of the passages, means for proportioning the loW through each passage, the removable units for measuring the flow through the corresponding passages, similar passages for insuring that the proportionate flow is maintained under all conditions and means in each of the passages for interrupting the flow therethrough so that the removable removed and the How continued through the remaining passages.

means in certain of i units may be 18. A uid meter having a' housing adapted to divide u fiowing stream of fluid into n, plurality of proportionate streams, means ormeasuring the ow of one of said pro;

5 portionate streams including normali statonury parts only in the stream, an Bow resisting means in each of the other pro ortionate streams having parts correspon ing in sha e and distribution. to said stationary 10 parts rst named for insuring that the proportionality of the streams remains the same under varying rates of 110W.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto sub' scribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. WILSON.

Witnesses:

FRANK H. Hummm), LEONARD A. WALsoN. 

